Vodka Fans Out There...What are your favorites?

**MacArthur Mike** · 11-09-2006, 09:00 AM

Hey everyone, just wondering what vodkas were your favorites out there (straight or flavored)? Perhaps you have some suggestions to try out some obscure ones that take some time to find beyond the Grey Gooses and Stolis of the world.

I do really enjoy Grey Goose, and I actually liked Stoli's new Blueberry flavored vodka.

However, my current favorites are any of the vodkas in the Hangar One line and a small vodka producer whose products I have only found in 1 store in the D.C. area called Crater Lake. It is super smooth and has a very clean taste. They also have a pepper flavored vodka as well, but the straight vodka is very, very nice if you can find a bottle.

-Mike

**castlecraver** · 11-09-2006, 09:04 AM

I love Stoli. I've got to have that little bite -- I can't stand the "ultra smooth" Grey Gooses that have become so popular lately.

I had a friend bring back a bunch of Russian Standard from Moscow for me... I specifically asked her for the "Budweiser" of Russian Vodkas (something ubiquitous and cheap). I found it great as a chilled, sipping sort of vodka.

Usually I don't mix it up wth my vokas as much as I do my other liquor.

**boboakalfb** · 11-09-2006, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by MacArthur Mike

However, my current favorites are any of the vodkas in the Hangar One line and a small vodka producer whose products I have only found in 1 store in the D.C. area called Crater Lake. It is super smooth and has a very clean taste. They also have a pepper flavored vodka as well, but the straight vodka is very, very nice if you can find a bottle.

-Mike

Their Mandarin Blossom is pretty good.

**TraderJoe** · 11-09-2006, 09:34 AM

any Potato vodka.

**FriscoSoxFan** · 11-09-2006, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by MacArthur Mike

I do really enjoy Grey Goose, and I actually liked Stoli's new Blueberry flavored vodka.

Can't stand Grey Goose. There seems to be a hint of black licorice to it, which kind of misses the point of Vodka. It ain't wine or whiskey, and shouldn't be subtle or complex in its flavor. Besides that, its French. By what perverted mistake of marketing did they somehow become an authority on Vodka???

.

Stoli. Unflavored. Smooth and clean vodka. Shoots well, mixes well. Some things should be kept simple.

**AandW** · 11-09-2006, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by castlecraver

I can't stand the "ultra smooth" Grey Gooses that have become so popular lately.

Don't you mean Grey Geese?

Originally Posted by castlecraver

I had a friend bring back a bunch of Russian Standard from Moscow for me... I specifically asked her for the "Budweiser" of Russian Vodkas (something ubiquitous and cheap). I found it great as a chilled, sipping sort of vodka.

I had a friend do that for me as well. Never again. I am surprised I did not go blind.

I also enjoy Hangar One.

**kuzmo** · 11-09-2006, 11:14 AM

as vodka is one of the cheapest and most accessible spirit I like all brands ... except for one but does not want to make antiadvertisement ...

My motto (as poor student's) is - is it cheap? is it accessible? Buy it! the effect would be the same! ... Oh but that taste...that taste .... brrrr

**kozulich** · 11-09-2006, 12:08 PM

Try First Guild Premium, haven't seen it around here but I know its available in Canada. Wine Enthusiast gave it a 95, making it one of their best vodkas, and the dirty little secret is that it sells for about half what you would pay for Grey Goose.
Also try "Z" vodka. "Z" is short for Zhitomirska Jubilee. Excellent vodka. This one is available in Washington, DC, Maryland, New York and New Jersey.
Also try Krane vodka if you can find it. I can't get it around here, but its worth seeking out.

**MasonM** · 11-09-2006, 12:13 PM

I like Stoli, Grey Goose, and Absolut.

**kuzmo** · 11-09-2006, 12:15 PM

I once drank 'Black Death Vodka' ... well dunno why they call it 'black death' ... wasn't that great (except for my vallet being completelly leeched - death)... but the BEST vodka I ever drank was ABSOLUT BLACK CURRANT VODKA!!!!!

**MBlatt** · 11-09-2006, 01:50 PM

Ketel One

**Tribe** · 11-09-2006, 08:53 PM

Love Vodka ... Good, Pure Russian Vodka ... ... Moskovskaya, Dovgan & Rodnik ... Straight & Slightly Chilled ... ... ... Cheers to Mother Russia ...

**19george** · 11-09-2006, 09:20 PM

I enjoy Belvedere. Perhaps the Vodka purists will come down on me for it, but darn if its not great.

zip22 · 11-09-2006, 09:25 PM

i have grown to love svedka. i found it from a taste test on about.com thats not there any more. it rated in the top 5 and was one of the cheaper brands. i think some of the others in the top were three olives, pravda (which i have tried but do not remember), level, and rain vodka. grey goose was actually below all of them if i remember correctly.

i have compared to level and titos handmade. level vodka has a slight piney taste like gin. titos handmade was about the same as svedka, but is significantly more expensive.

i want to try belvedere and ketel one, but haven't had the chance.

**TimmyBoston** · 11-09-2006, 09:29 PM

To be honest, I am not a vodka fan, I find the idea of colorless flavorless alcohol silly, but never the less, few things look as cool as a martini. When I do drink Vodka I prefer Hangar One.

**JohnP** · 11-09-2006, 11:26 PM

Originally Posted by zip22

i have grown to love svedka. i found it from a taste test on about.com thats not there any more. it rated in the top 5 and was one of the cheaper brands. i think some of the others in the top were three olives, pravda (which i have tried but do not remember), level, and rain vodka. grey goose was actually below all of them if i remember correctly.

i have compared to level and titos handmade. level vodka has a slight piney taste like gin. titos handmade was about the same as svedka, but is significantly more expensive.

i want to try belvedere and ketel one, but haven't had the chance.

I have a bottle of Pravda somewhere, it's pretty good. Belvedere is also decent. Last bottle I tried was Luksusowa (sp) potato vodka.
Not bad at all. I keep them in the freezer a while before I'm ready to drink them though.
John P.

**Stauff** · 11-10-2006, 01:34 AM

A Russian friend once told me the best is Zjelka, as it is what he buys himself when he's in Moscow. Not available outside Russia I'm afraid.

**mr_economy** · 11-10-2006, 02:31 AM

Stoli Elit is a marvelous vodka, for those who enjoy the feeling of decadence. For me, it culminated in a 30 Euro martini at a Berlin casino. I am one who does not find pleasure in a 'rougher', perhaps more authentically Russian vodka - there is no flavor nuance to appreciate, merely a different bite and aftertaste because of the various impurities.

I lost much of my interest in vodka at the moment I finally realized what my criteria for a good vodka boiled down to: tastelessness, smooth tastelessness. I simply cannot justify $30+ per bottle to sip a bastardized version of a martini that tastes like alcoholic water mixed with a little vermouth.

These days I prefer gin, now there's a spirit I can truly enjoy - classic, perfect as a gin & tonic during the summer or a martini in the winter, and with a distinct difference in flavor and aroma between the various kinds.

For those who do enjoy vodka, however, some brands in the premium to ultra-premium class I have found agreeable are Cîroc, Level, and Belvedere.